Ducks Down Pilots, 6-1

EUGENE – The Oregon women’s tennis team improved their record, 3-0, in dual play with a 6-1 victory over Portland mid-day Saturday at the Student Tennis Center. The Ducks dropped their first match of the dual season after Nicole Long wasn’t able to complete her comeback over Maja Mladenovic, falling 6-3, 6-5 at No. 1 singles.

“In the doubles point we lacked the sense of urgency that I would’ve liked to have seen, but we were able to step it up at the end and take that point,” head coach Paul Reber said. “Sofia and Jasmine played some of the best tennis I’ve seen them play this year, and I think they still have another level to go. The intensity and focus they showed today is the way we need them leading the way in future matches.”

With Jasmine Minor and Long pitted in a back-and-forth battle in their No. 1 doubles match, Oregon’s freshman duo of Marlou Kluiving and Lina Åkesson defeated Mladenovic/Gould 6-3 at No. 2 doubles position. Lana Buttner and partner Sofia Hager quickly finished their No. 3 doubles match shortly thereafter, defeating Dhatt/Reimers 6-3 to clinch the doubles point for UO.

Lana Buttner was the first Duck to finish her match, defeating Emily Gould 6-0, 6-4 from the No. 5 singles position. Minor finished soon after defeating Jelena Lazarevic 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.

After a long battle in the first set, Hager came out firing in the second set to win 6-3, 6-0 over Saroop Dhatt at the No. 4 singles hole. In the No. 6 spot, Rabea Stueckemann gave up just two games in her match, defeating Emily Mahairas 6-0, 6-2.

“Lana and Rabea gave us a lot of breathing room in the five and six positions winning so early,” Reber said.

Kluiving’s No. 3 singles match with Sophie van den Aarssen went down to the super tiebreaker after van den Aarssen took the second set 6-1 but it was all Kluiving as she nearly swept the tiebreaker 10-1 for the 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (10-1) victory.

“That was one of the best 10-point tiebreaker I’ve seen, as far as being focused and staying aggressive all the way through,” Reber said about Kluiving’s match.

“The first set was really close and I had to wait for the right opportunity to attack her service,” Kluiving said. “In the second set, she served really well and returned even better. She was definitely playing better in the second set, so I was getting myself ready for the third set.

“I was definitely in the zone for the tiebreaker,” Kluiving said. “The match was really intense for the both of us since she was from The Netherlands as well so it had a lot to do with pride.”

The Ducks return to action at 3 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday against Portland State to finish off their four-game homestand before flying out to the Midwest.

No. 72 Oregon Ducks (3-0) 6, Portland Pilots (1-1) 1
Doubles
No. 1 – Long/Minor (UO) vs. van den Aarssen (UP) Unf.
No. 2 – Kluiving/Akesson (UO) def. Mladenovic/Gould (UP) 6-3
No. 3 – Hager/Buttner (UO) def. Dhatt/Reimers (UP) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3

Singles
No. 1 – Maja Mladenovic (UP) def. Nicole Long (UO) 6-3, 6-5
No. 2 – Jasmine Minor (UO) def. Jelena Lazarevic (UP) 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 – Marlou Kluiving (UO) def. Sophie van den Aarssen 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (10-1)
No. 4 – Sofia Hager (UO) def. Saroop Dhatt (UP) 6-3, 6-0
No. 5 – Lana Buttner (UO) def. Emily Gould (UP) 6-0, 6-4
No. 6 – Rabea Stueckemann (UO) def. Emily Mahairas 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish:  5, 2, 4, 6, 3, 1